Equality Bill

Mark Harper: To ask the Leader of the House what discussions she has had, with reference to her responsibility for the Government's legislative programme, on which Minister will have lead responsibility in the House for the Equality Bill; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: I have overall responsibility for the Equality Bill. I have asked my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General to take charge of the Bill as it goes through the House, working with me and my hon. Friend the Deputy Minister for Women and Equality.
	The Equality agenda is at the heart of this Government, which is committed to fairness. And that commitment needs a strong ministerial team to lead forward this agenda, including the parliamentary passage of the Equality Bill.

Air Traffic Control

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether the conclusions of the National Air Traffic Service consultation on the Terminal Control North proposal are expected to lead to a further consultation;
	(2)  when he expects National Air Traffic Service to publish a timetable for next steps on the Terminal Control North proposal;
	(3)  whether the responses received during the National Air Traffic Service consultation on the Terminal Control North proposal are expected to lead to any proposed options that are different from those contained in the consultation.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The NATS consultation on the Terminal Control North airspace change proposal closed in June 2008. NATS are continuing to analyse responses to their consultation but published an initial feedback report in July and a progress report in October, both of which are available on the NATS website at
	www.nats.co.uk.
	NATS have not set a timetable for next steps on the proposal given that feedback from the consultation is still under way. They are clear that they will take as long as is necessary to give full consideration to the consultation feedback. If their analysis leads to proposed options that are significantly different from those contained in the consultation, NATS will undertake further consultation in accordance with the Airspace Change Process governed by the Civil Aviation Authority.
	It would be premature for the Secretary of State to comment on the proposal while it remains subject to the rigours of the independent Airspace Change Process.

Gaming Machines

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the Government has to revise its guidance on prizes and stakes on slot machines.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government do not issue guidance on gaming machine stakes and prizes. It has recently completed a consultation on proposed increases to stake and prize limits for lower categories of gaming machines, and is considering how best to proceed. At the same time the Gambling Commission is consulting on proposed revisions to the technical standards for gaming machines.

Sports: Finance

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria the National Sports Foundation require to be met for them to guarantee matched funding for projects for more than one year.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England have advised that The National Sports Foundation cannot guarantee match funding a project for more than one year as its funding comes from Exchequer sources, which must be spent in the year in which funding is awarded.

Defence Equipment

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in respect of which models of Royal Air Force vehicles his Department has plans to retro-fit  (a) explosion suppressant foam and  (b) other risk-reducing technologies.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 6 November 2008
	Explosion Suppressant foam (ESF) is one form of fuel tank inerting (FTI). The other method is the introduction of inert gas to the fuel tank's air cavity, reducing oxygen levels and minimising the potential for explosive ignition of vapours. FTI is already fitted to some aircraft types within the Royal Air Force, including the CI30s, and there are plans in place to fit a number of other aircraft types. In addition, the Department is considering its response to the recommendations made by the coroner at the conclusion of the inquest into the loss of Hercules flight XV179.
	All aircraft deployed into operational theatres are fitted with defensive aids suites features commensurate with the assessment of the threat faced and the role of the aircraft.
	I am withholding information pertaining to the fitting of specific survivability features to individual aircraft types as their disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Department of Community Mental Health

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new referrals to each Department of Community Mental Health there have been in each year since 2003.

Kevan Jones: The Ministry of Defence's 15 military Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs) across the UK (plus satellite centres in Cyprus and Germany) provide out-patient mental health care for members of the armed forces. The Department does not hold centrally data on DCMH attendance prior to January 2007 and the data for 2008 is in the process of being validated. Therefore the figures in the following table relate to the calendar year of 2007 only.
	
		
			  DCMH  New attendances in 2007 
			 Aldershot 394 
			 Brize Norton 654 
			 Catterick 720 
			 Colchester 340 
			 Cranwell 239 
			 Cyprus 81 
			 Donnington 385 
			 Faslane 178 
			 Germany 578 
			 Haslar 306 
			 HQNI 145 
			 Kinloss 166 
			 Leuchars 155 
			 Marham 211 
			 Plymouth 488 
			 Tidworth 379 
			 Woolwich 228 
			 Total 5,647 
		
	
	These figures record all new attendances at DCMHs (i.e. people who have not attended a DCMH previously), and therefore does not include those who were receiving ongoing treatment which started prior to January 2007. The figures include all people who attended a DCMH appointment, not all of whom will have been subsequently diagnosed to have a mental disorder.
	Data from the Defence Analysis and Statistical Advice (DASA) Psychiatric Morbidity Report indicates that during 2007 3,917 personnel were identified as having been diagnosed with a mental disorder. This equates to 69.4 per cent. of those who attended an appointment at a DCMH.

Departmental Databases

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what use  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies make of (i) MOSAIC data and (ii) ACORN data.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information requested is as follows.
	 (a) The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) currently makes no use of either data source.
	 (b) MOSAIC data is currently used by the Pensions, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS) and the Rent Service.
	The PDCS use MOSAIC data to enhance our understanding of the pensioner population, and to support pension credit take-up activity. This helps provide additional customer insight when we have no internal data, so that communications and marketing can be suitably targeted.
	The Rent Service also uses the household version of MOSAIC data to help determine localities and broad rental market area for fair rent and housing benefit decisions. The data has been integrated into their geographical information systems so that an immediate understanding of neighbourhood demographics can be determined.
	ACORN analysis was used, on the Department's behalf, by the Central Office of Information (COI) in 2007-08. It identified postcode sectors in 50 local authority areas for mailing purposes, as part of the targeting benefit thieves campaign, "No Ifs, No Buts".

Social Security Benefits: Lone Parents

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of lone parents to be moved from income support onto  (a) jobseeker's allowance,  (b) employment support allowance and  (c) other benefits in each month of the next three years as a result of the provisions of the Social Security (Lone Parents and Miscellaneous) Regulations 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Kitty Ussher: Information is not available broken down by month. Based on internal analysis carried out for departmental planning purposes, current estimates for each quarter of the number of lone parents in receipt of income support who will move onto jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance or income support on grounds other than being a lone parents as a result of the legislative changes are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Jobseeker's allowance  Employment and  support allowance  Income support (on grounds other than being a lone parent) 
			 March-May 2009 23,200 8,450 8,000 
			 June-August 2009 9,200 3,350 8,400 
			 September-November 2009 16,500 6,000 5,650 
			 December-February 2010 11,150 4,050 3,850 
			 March-May 2010 14,900 5,450 5,150 
			 June-August 2010 18,700 6,800 6,450 
			 September-November 2010 6,600 2,400 2,300 
			 December-February 2011 35,300 12,850 13,250 
			 March-May 2011 17,700 6,450 6,100 
			 June-August 2011 5,200 1,900 1,800 
			 September-November 2011 5,150 1,850 1,750 
			  Notes: 1. Figures based on internal analysis of DWP administrative data. 2. Figures rounded to the nearest 50. 3. Figures exceed the number of lone parents with children aged seven and over currently on income support, as it includes lone parents with youngest children who become too old within the year and who are moved off income support. 4. The changes are being introduced for new and repeat claimants from November 2008, and for existing income support claimants from March 2009. 5. The question has been interpreted as the number of existing income support claimants affected only. 
		
	
	These estimates are based on a number of assumptions the Department has made around the number of lone parents who will be on income support when entitlement ceases, and the destination of lone parents when they lose entitlement.
	We have commissioned a comprehensive evaluation of the changes and will monitor their impact over time. These estimates are sensitive to the particular assumptions made and will be fully tested in the evaluation.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister what the total cost of his Office between 27 June 2007 and 27 June 2008 was.

Gordon Brown: The overall running costs of Downing street for the financial year 2007-08 was £22.78 million.
	The figure for 2007-08 includes the exceptional costs of £810,000 for essential renovation to the exterior of the Downing street estate undertaken in accordance with the requirements of English Heritage

Departmental Lost Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) equipment and  (b) data was lost by his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) can confirm the following information:
	 (a) Equipment loss—Nine laptops were stolen during the period 2007-08. All DFID laptops have secure encryption technology and no data has been put at risk.
	 (b) The Department for International Development, in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance, did not report any personal data related incidents for the period 2007-08.

Departmental Written Questions

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Questions for written answer were tabled to his Department in Session  (a) 2002-03,  (b) 2003-04,  (c) 2004-05,  (d) 2005-06,  (e) 2006-07 and  (f) 2007-08 to date; and how many were (i) answered substantively and (ii) not answered on grounds of disproportionate cost.

Angela Eagle: The number of written questions received by the Treasury in each of the last six parliamentary Sessions has been as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002-03 3,963 
			 2003-04 3,099 
			 2004-05 1,377 
			 2005-06 6,437 
			 2006-07 4,432 
			 2007-08 (to date) 3,737 
		
	
	Treasury Ministers endeavour to provide suitable substantive answers to all questions. Information is not available relating to questions which could not be answered wholly or in part because the data requested by questioners was not available or because it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) memory sticks,  (b) laptop computers,  (c) desktop computers,  (d) hard drives and  (e) mobile telephones were (i) lost by and (ii) stolen from her Department in each year since its establishment.

Sadiq Khan: Communities and Local Government was formed on 5 May 2006. The information as follows goes back to May 2002, and includes data for CLG's predecessor Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (which was formed on 29 May 2002) and its agencies. The data requested prior to this date is not held centrally and therefore cannot be provided.
	
		
			   Status  Memory stick  Laptop computer  Desktop computer  Hard drive  Mobile telephone 
			 2002-03 Lost 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Stolen 0 2 0 0 0 
			
			 2003-04 Lost 0 0 0 0 1 
			  Stolen 0 2 0 0 0 
			
			 2004-05 Lost 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Stolen 0 2 0 0 0 
			
			 2005-06 Lost 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Stolen 0 (*)7 0 0 0 
			
			 2006-07 Lost 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Stolen 0 7 0 0 2 
			
			 2007-08 Lost 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Stolen 0 9 3 0 2 
			  Note: This includes two x laptops from the Fire Service College and recorded as lost at the time of the answer of 13 February 2006,  Official Report, column 1616W, to the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T.C. Davies) but subsequently reported as stolen. 
		
	
	The official data on each of the laptops was not encrypted, because none of the information was classified. However, each laptop was password protected.
	This answer does not include Government offices for the region who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Dispersal Orders

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dispersal orders were issued by each police force in each year since the introduction of such orders.

Alan Campbell: 1,065 areas were designated under section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 between 1 January 2004 and 31 March 2006 and this information broken down by police force area is enclosed in the following table. Information on the number of designated areas for the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2008 will be published shortly.
	
		
			  Force  Number of areas designated (January 2004 to March 2006) 
			 Avon and Somerset 30 
			 Bedfordshire 29 
			 Cambridgeshire 31 
			 Cheshire 1 
			 City of London (1)— 
			 Cleveland 30 
			 Cumbria 2 
			 Derbyshire 22 
			 Devon and Cornwall 49 
			 Dorset 31 
			 Durham 2 
			 Dyfed Powys (1)— 
			 Essex 24 
			 Gloucestershire 1 
			 Greater Manchester 45 
			 Gwent 6 
			 Hampshire 69 
			 Hertfordshire 20 
			 Humberside 15 
			 Kent 73 
			 Lancashire 18 
			 Leicestershire 30 
			 Lincolnshire 4 
			 Merseyside 70 
			 Metropolitan Police (2)— 
			 Norfolk 18 
			 North Wales 16 
			 North Yorkshire 6 
			 Northamptonshire 67 
			 Northumbria 3 
			 Nottinghamshire 40 
			 South Wales 2 
			 South Yorkshire 16 
			 Staffordshire 30 
			 Suffolk 5 
			 Surrey 33 
			 Sussex 35 
			 Thames Valley 6 
			 Warwickshire 22 
			 West Midlands 123 
			 West Yorkshire 22 
			 West Mercia (2)— 
			 Wiltshire 19 
			 Total 1,065 
			 (1) No areas designated (2) No data provided.

Influenza

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Romsey of 9 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 594-95W, on influenza, what progress he has made towards the delivery of the initial phase of the National Flu Line Service by the end of 2008; what steps comprise the initial phase of implementation; what other phases of implementation are required for the service to become operational; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Pandemic Flu Line Service will be available in the event of a pandemic, to provide rapid access to antiviral treatment and to ease the burden on front-line health care services.
	Current plans are for a fully operational first release of the system to be delivered and tested in early 2009. A preferred supplier has been selected and we expect to place contracts shortly.
	Primary care trusts are currently making arrangements for local antiviral collection points and stock management and distribution systems are in development.
	This timetable is subject to review if the likelihood of a pandemic increases in the meantime, with the announcement of World Health Organisation phase 4.

Departmental Air Travel

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 27W, on carbon emissions: Government departments, how much air mileage incurred through departmental travel was used to calculate the departmental payment to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund in each year that his Department has participated in the fund, broken down by  (a) domestic,  (b) short haul and  (c) long haul flights.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not participate in the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF). The FCO off-sets official air travel for Ministers and officials in the UK through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership, an arrangement which predates the creation of GCOF.

Intimidation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2008,  Official Report, column 763W, on intimidation, how many cases of bullying in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were reported in each month of 2006.

Gillian Merron: The information requested is as follows:
	  (a) In the main Foreign and Commonwealth Office, three cases involving bullying were raised as internal grievances in March, June and August 2006. Of these, two were not upheld. One was partially upheld, meaning that the grievance would have had several elements to it, with evidence found to support some but not all of those elements.
	  (b) In the FCO Services Agency, there was one bullying allegation in January 2006 which resulted in a disciplinary penalty.

Torture: British Nationality

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government takes to protect British citizens from becoming victims of torture.

Gillian Merron: The UK is fundamentally opposed to torture and remains one of the most active countries in the world in the fight to eradicate it. In the answer of my hon. Friend the Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Meg Munn) on 8 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1543W, we described some of the work we carry out in trying to ensure that people of all nationalities, including British nationals, do not become victims of this abhorrent practice.
	We provide consular assistance to British nationals abroad, which includes taking an interest in their welfare. We take allegations of torture very seriously and, with the permission of the individual concerned, can take up such allegations with the relevant authorities in the host state.